There are various different situations in which a slippery road surface decreases tire traction to the extent that movement of a passenger vehicle may not be initiated by traction of the drive wheels thereof. In order to increase traction at least during starting movement of the vehicle it is customary to spread sand, rock salt or other granular materials such as "kitty litter" in front of the driving wheels of the vehicle. In most instances sufficient initial traction to enable forward movement of the vehicle to be started is sufficient to allow continued vehicle movement over an icy road surface.
Accordingly, many vehicle drivers will store a supply of sand, rock salt or "kitty litter" within a storage area of their vehicle together with a shovel or other implement whereby the stored traction-increasing granular material may be spread in front of the drive wheels of the vehicle in order to at least enable initial forward movement of the vehicle over icy road surfaces. However, such stored granular materials are often spilled either during storage or while attempting to shovel quantities thereof from the storage area for placement in front of the driving wheels of an associated vehicle. Accordingly, a need exists for structure by which tire traction-increasing granular material may be stored within a vehicle and subsequently, when needed, spread in front of the driving wheels of the vehicle, independent of spilling of the granular material.
Various different forms of granular material containers and disPensers including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention heretofore have been provided such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 125,324, 1,274,969, 1,793,197 and 3,140,887. However, these previously known forms of granular material containers and dispensers do not include some of the specific features of the instant invention which particularly well adapt it for use in storing and spreading traction-increasing granular material in front of the driving wheels of an associated vehicle.